Open Source Gadget Lab

The Open Source Gadget Lab is where creativity, engineering, and compassion intersect.

This lab exists to design, build, and openly share technology that solves real problems for animal rescue, community spaces, and public good. It is a hands-on environment where coding, hardware, cybersecurity, and design come together to create tools that anyone can use, improve, and deploy.

Every gadget built here is open source by default. Knowledge is shared. Progress compounds. Impact scales beyond our walls.

What We Build

The Open Source Gadget Lab focuses on practical, deployable technology with immediate real-world use. Initial projects are centered around the Script Kitty Cat Cafe and Technology Hub, with designs intentionally created so other rescues, cafes, and nonprofits can adopt them freely.

Rescue and Cat Cafe Technology

• AI powered camera systems for cat health monitoring and behavior insights
• Interactive enrichment toys designed to stimulate cats physically and mentally
• Smart habitat monitoring for temperature, air quality, and comfort
• Automated feeding and care tracking systems
• Tools that support adoption storytelling and engagement

Fundraising and Livestream Technology

• Interactive hardware tied to livestream donations
• Real time visualizations and projections driven by community participation
• Donation triggered toys, lights, and environmental effects
• Secure systems designed with privacy and safety at the core

Community Driven Innovation

• Gadgets proposed and designed by workshop participants
• Creative technology projects blending art, light, sound, and software
• Experimental builds that explore new ways to connect people, animals, and space

Every project is documented, published, and shared so others can replicate or expand upon the work.

The Lab Environment

The Open Source Gadget Lab is designed to feel like a creative studio, not a classroom.

Participants work with professional-grade tools and real infrastructure, learning by building systems that matter.

Available Technology and Resources

• 3D printers for prototyping enclosures and components
• Raspberry Pi and Banana Pi systems for embedded projects
• Server racks for learning infrastructure and networking
• Managed networking equipment and security tooling
• Computers for programming, modeling, and simulation
• Projection mapping tools for interactive visual installations
• Sensors, cameras, and microcontrollers
• Hardware benches and electronics workstations

The lab encourages experimentation across disciplines. Engineering and creativity are treated as equal partners in the design process.

Workshops and Community Learning

The Open Source Gadget Lab hosts ongoing workshops, build sessions, and collaborative sprints.

These are open to students, self-taught technologists, artists, mentors, and community members who want to learn by doing.

Workshop Focus Areas

• Software engineering and embedded programming
• Cybersecurity fundamentals and secure device design
• Hardware prototyping and electronics
• Networking and infrastructure basics
• Creative technology and physical design
• Responsible AI use in small systems

Participants leave with tangible skills, completed projects, and contributions to open source tools that live beyond the workshop.

Why Open Source Matters

Open source is the foundation of this lab.

By publishing designs openly, we ensure that:

• Other rescues can adopt proven technology without cost barriers
• Communities can build locally without reinventing solutions
• Students gain public portfolios based on real impact
• Innovation spreads faster than any single organization

This approach multiplies the value of every donation, every workshop, and every hour spent building.

Corporate Partners and Technology Donors

The Open Source Gadget Lab depends on collaboration with industry partners who believe in education, innovation, and social impact.

We actively seek donations of equipment, hardware, and infrastructure to support our work and expand access.

High Impact Donation Needs

• GPUs and CPUs
• Desktop and laptop computers
• Servers and networking equipment
• 3D printers and printing materials
• Cameras, sensors, and imaging hardware
• Microcontrollers and embedded systems
• Storage devices and backup solutions
• Development kits and lab equipment

Corporate partners receive meaningful recognition through:

• Public acknowledgment and project attribution
• Integration into educational programs and workshops
• Association with open source tools used by nonprofits nationwide
• Alignment with workforce development and community impact initiatives

We welcome both in-kind donations and long-term partnerships.

An Invitation to Build With Us

The Open Source Gadget Lab is not about novelty.

It is about building technology that improves lives.

It is a place where:

• Cats receive better care and richer environments
• Communities gain access to tools and knowledge
• Learners become builders
• Ideas turn into shared solutions

We invite donors, mentors, engineers, artists, and organizations to help shape what gets built next.

Together, we can create technology that is open, ethical, creative, and deeply human.